Management of distributed location servers

ABSTRACT

In one embodiment, a method includes storing, in a data store, a physical network model of a network environment, the network environment comprising one or more central controllers and one or more access points each operative to associate with a central controller, the physical network model comprising one or more region objects, each region object corresponding to a physical region of the network environment, each region object further including one or more radio frequency (RF) coverage maps, each RF coverage map defining a location of one or more access points and RF properties of a physical space; receiving a first mapping definition between a location server and a one or more region objects of the physical network model; receiving a second mapping definition between the location server and one or more central controllers; transmitting the one or more region objects in the first mapping definition to the location server; and configuring the location server and the one or more central controllers in the second mapping definition to interoperate.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS AND PATENTS

This application claims priority to U.S. provisional patent applicationSer. No. 60/809,669, filed May 31, 2006.

TECHNICAL FIELD

This disclosure relates generally to deployment of location servers innetwork environments.

BACKGROUND

Market adoption of wireless LAN (WLAN) technology has exploded, as usersfrom a wide range of backgrounds and vertical industries have broughtthis technology into their homes, offices, and increasingly into thepublic air space. This inflection point has highlighted not only thelimitations of earlier-generation systems, but also the changing rolethat WLAN technology now plays in people's work and lifestyles acrossthe globe. Indeed, WLANs are rapidly changing from convenience networksto business-critical networks. Increasingly users are depending on WLANsto improve the timeliness and productivity of their communications andapplications, and in doing so, require greater visibility, security,management, and performance from their network. Enterprises areincreasingly deploying location servers to track and provide thelocation of wired and wireless clients, for such purposes as e911, RFfirewalls systems, and the like. Deployment of location services in anetwork across a large enterprise or across multiple sites in adistributed and managed fashion presents certain challenges, especiallyas an enterprise grows a network, deployment of location services maybecome a management problem.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1A illustrates example components in a wireless local area network(WLAN) system.

FIG. 1B illustrates an example hierarchical wireless network including acentral controller.

FIG. 1C illustrates an example hardware system, which may be used toimplement a central controller.

FIG. 2 illustrates an example hardware system, which may be used toimplement a network management server.

FIG. 3 illustrates an example hardware system, which may be used toimplement a wireless access point.

FIG. 4 illustrates an example network environment for physical andlogical network models.

FIG. 5 illustrates an example method implemented at a network managementserver.

FIG. 6 illustrates another example method implemented at a networkmanagement server.

FIG. 7 illustrates an example screenshot showing a list of networkdesigns.

FIG. 8 illustrates another example screenshot showing a list of networkdesigns and a list of available location servers.

FIG. 9 illustrates another example screenshot showing a mapping ofcentral controllers to location servers.

DESCRIPTION OF EXAMPLE EMBODIMENTS

A. Overview

Particular embodiments of the present invention provide configurationmodels and synchronization schemes to facilitate management of multiplelocation servers in a network deployment. In one implementation, anetwork management server may store a physical network model of anetwork environment, which may include a network design mapping thatmaps physical elements (e.g., buildings, floors, etc.) and networkelements (e.g., wireless access points) to one or more location servers.In one implementation, each location server may store a logical networkmodel, which may include a central controller mapping that maps networkelements (e.g., central controllers, wireless access points, etc.) tothe location server. In one implementation, the network managementserver may also store the logical network models for the one or morelocation servers. In one implementation, the network management servermay synchronize the physical and logical network models to reflectchanges/updates, and then transmit or push the synchronization updatesof the physical and logical network models to the appropriate locationservers. In one implementation, the updates originating from logicalnetwork models at particular location servers may be received or pulledfrom those appropriate location servers in order to facilitatesynchronization.

B. Example Wireless Network System Architecture

B.1. Network Topology

FIG. 1A illustrates example components in a wireless local area network(WLAN) system. In a specific embodiment of the present invention, thesystem includes one or more network management servers 20 a and 20 b,location servers 22 a and 22 b, and central controllers 42 a and 42 b,local area networks (LANs) 30 a and 30 b, routers 32 a and 32 b, andwireless access points 50 a, 50 b, 50 c, 50 d, 50 e, 50 f, and 50 g.LANs 30 a and 30 b may be implemented by switches (or arrays ofswitches) and/or other network devices, such as bridges.

As FIG. 1A illustrates, these network elements are operably connected toa network 52. Network 52, in one implementation, generally refers to acomputer network, such as a LAN, a WAN, etc., that includes one or moreintermediate network devices (e.g., routers, switches, etc.), whichallow for the transmission of messages between network managementservers 20 a and 20 b and wireless nodes via wireless access points 50.Of course, network 52 can include a variety of network segments,transmission technologies and components, such as terrestrial WAN links,satellite links, optical fiber links, and cellular links. Network 52could also be a campus LAN. LANs 30 a and 30 b may be a LANs, LANsegments implemented by Ethernet switches (not shown), or arrays ofswitches having multiple ports to which wireless access points 50 areconnected. The wireless access points 50 are typically connected toswitch ports via Ethernet links; however, other link layer connectionprotocols or communication means can be employed. FIG. 1A illustratesone possible network environment in which the invention may operate;however, other implementations are possible. For example, althoughnetwork management servers 20 a and 20 b may be on a different LAN orLAN segment, it may be co-located with wireless access points 50.

The wireless access points 50 are operative to wirelessly communicatewith remote wireless nodes. In one implementation, wireless nodes mayinclude notebook computers, personal digital assistants (PDAs), mobilephones, radio frequency identification (RFID) devices, etc. In oneimplementation, the wireless access points 50 implement the wirelessnetwork protocol specified in the IEEE 802.11 WLAN specification; ofcourse, other wireless network protocols may be used. The wirelessaccess points 50 may be autonomous or so-called “fat” wireless accesspoints, or light-weight wireless access points operating in connectionwith a wireless switch (see FIG. 1B). In addition, the networkinfrastructure may also include a Wireless LAN Solution Engine (WLSE)offered by Cisco Systems, Inc. of San Jose, Calif. or another wirelessnetwork management system. In some implementations, the networkinfrastructure may also include one or more Wireless Control System(WCS) nodes operative to manage one or more wireless switches and accesspoints.

B.2. Central Controller

FIG. 1B illustrates an example hierarchical wireless network including acentral controller 42, which, in one implementation, may be used toimplement central controllers 42 a and/or 42 b of FIG. 1A. In oneimplementation, the central controller 42 may be implemented as awireless domain server (WDS) or, alternatively, as a wireless switch. Ifthe central controller 42 is implemented with a WDS, the centralcontroller 42 is operative to communicate with autonomous or so-called“fat” wireless access points. If the central controller 42 isimplemented as a wireless switch, the central controller 42 is operativeto communicate with light-weight wireless access points and processwireless protocol and network management information. As FIG. 1Billustrates, a central controller 42 may be directly connected to one ormore access points 50. Alternatively, a central controller 43 may beoperably connected to one or more access points over a switched and/orrouted network environment, as FIG. 1A illustrates.

FIG. 1C illustrates an example hardware system 100, which may be used toimplement a central controller 42. As FIG. 1C shows, in oneimplementation, the central control elements each comprise a switchfunction or fabric 102 comprising a network interface 104 a (e.g., anEthernet adapter) for connection to network 52 and network interfaces104 b, 104 c, and 104 d for connection to wireless access points. Thisswitch function or fabric is implemented to facilitate connection to theaccess elements. Central controller 42, in one implementation, furthercomprises a processor 106, a memory 108, one or more software modulesstored in memory 108, including instructions for performing thefunctions described herein, and a system bus 110 operably connectingthese components. The central control elements may optionally include anadministrative network interface 112 allowing for administrative accessfor such purposes as configuration and diagnostic access. In otherimplementations, central controller 42 includes a single networkinterface.

B.3. Network Management Server or Location Server

FIG. 2 illustrates an example hardware system 200, which may be used toimplement a network management server 20 and/or a location server 22. Inone implementation, hardware system 200 comprises a processor 202, acache memory 204, and one or more software applications and driversdirected to the functions described herein. Additionally, hardwaresystem 200 includes a high performance input/output (I/O) bus 206 and astandard I/O bus 208. A host bridge 210 couples processor 202 to highperformance I/O bus 206, whereas I/O bus bridge 212 couples the twobuses 206 and 208 to each other. A system memory 214 and anetwork/communication interface 216 couple to bus 206. Hardware system200 may further include video memory (not shown) and a display devicecoupled to the video memory. Mass storage 218 and I/O ports 220 coupleto bus 208. Hardware system 200 may optionally include a keyboard andpointing device (not shown) coupled to bus 208. Collectively, theseelements are intended to represent a broad category of computer hardwaresystems, including but not limited to general purpose computer systemsbased on the Pentium® processor manufactured by Intel Corporation ofSanta Clara, Calif., as well as any other suitable processor.

The elements of hardware system 200 are described in greater detailbelow. In particular, network interface 216 provides communicationbetween hardware system 200 and any of a wide range of networks, such asan Ethernet (e.g., IEEE 802.3) network, etc. Mass storage 218 providespermanent storage for the data and programming instructions to performthe above described functions implemented in the system controller,whereas system memory 214 (e.g., DRAM) provides temporary storage forthe data and programming instructions when executed by processor 202.I/O ports 220 are one or more serial and/or parallel communication portsthat provide communication between additional peripheral devices, whichmay be coupled to hardware system 200.

Hardware system 200 may include a variety of system architectures; andvarious components of hardware system 200 may be rearranged. Forexample, cache 204 may be on-chip with processor 202. Alternatively,cache 204 and processor 202 may be packed together as a “processormodule,” with processor 202 being referred to as the “processor core.”Furthermore, certain implementations of the present invention may notrequire nor include all of the above components. For example, theperipheral devices shown coupled to standard I/O bus 208 may couple tohigh performance I/O bus 206. In addition, in some implementations onlya single bus may exist, with the components of hardware system 200 beingcoupled to the single bus. Furthermore, hardware system 200 may includeadditional components, such as additional processors, storage devices,or memories.

As discussed above, in one embodiment, the operations of the networkmanagement servers 20 and location servers 22 described herein areimplemented as a series of software routines run by hardware system 200.These software routines comprise a plurality or series of instructionsto be executed by a processor in a hardware system, such as processor202. Initially, the series of instructions are stored on a storagedevice, such as mass storage 218. However, the series of instructionscan be stored on any suitable storage medium, such as a diskette,CD-ROM, ROM, EEPROM, etc. Furthermore, the series of instructions neednot be stored locally, and could be received from a remote storagedevice, such as a server on a network, via network/communicationinterface 216. The instructions are copied from the storage device, suchas mass storage 218, into memory 214 and then accessed and executed byprocessor 202.

An operating system manages and controls the operation of hardwaresystem 200, including the input and output of data to and from softwareapplications (not shown). The operating system provides an interfacebetween the software applications being executed on the system and thehardware components of the system. According to one embodiment of thepresent invention, the operating system is the Windows® 95/98/NT/XPoperating system, available from Microsoft Corporation of Redmond, Wash.However, the present invention may be used with other suitable operatingsystems, such as the Apple Macintosh Operating System, available fromApple Computer Inc. of Cupertino, Calif., UNIX operating systems, LINUXoperating systems, and the like.

B.4. Wireless Access Point

FIG. 3 illustrates an example hardware system 300, which may be used toimplement a wireless access point 50. In one implementation, thewireless access point 300 includes a processor 310, a memory 312, anetwork interface 314 (e.g., an 802.3 interface) for communication witha LAN, a cache 316 for storing WLAN information, a persistent memory318, a wireless network interface 320 (e.g., an IEEE 802.11 WLANinterface) for wireless communication with one or more wireless nodes60, and a system bus 322 interconnecting these components. The wirelessaccess points 50 may also include software modules (including DynamicHost Configuration Protocol (DHCP) clients, transparent bridging,Lightweight Access Point Protocol (LWAPP), Cisco® Discovery Protocol(CDP) modules, wireless access point modules, Simple Network ManagementProtocol (SNMP) functionality, etc., and device drivers (e.g., networkand WLAN interface drivers) stored in persistent memory 318 (e.g., ahard disk drive, flash memory, EEPROM, etc.). At start up, thesesoftware components are loaded into system memory 312 and then accessedand executed by processor 310.

C. Basic Wireless Network Environment for Physical and Logical NetworkModels

C.1. Physical Network Model (Network Design)

FIG. 4 illustrates an example physical and logical network models for ahypothetical network environment. In one implementation, a physicalnetwork model, also referred to as a network design, may include varioussynchronization objects. In one implementation, synchronization objectsmay include, for example, one or more region objects corresponding tophysical regions of the network environment (e.g., building, floor,etc.), a network design mapping, and one or more network elements, suchas one or more location servers 22, and one or more wireless accesspoints 50. In one implementation, a physical space or campus may includephysical elements such as buildings, floors, etc., and network elements,such as wireless access points, etc. For example, referring to FIG. 4, agiven campus may include one or more buildings (each labeled “B”) havingone or more floors (each labeled “F”), and each floor may be associatedwith one or more wireless access points (each labeled “AP”).

In one implementation, each physical region object may be initiallyunassigned to a location server. In one implementation, as a userassigns a given region object to a location server, a mapping definition(e.g., network design mapping and/or central controller mapping) may bedefined between that object and a list of location servers to which itis mapped. In one implementation, such mappings may be stored in a datastore or database with additional attributes for synchronization, asdescribed in more detail below. The database may reside in anyappropriate location such as at a network management server. Also, thenetwork management server may share the physical network model, as wellas the logical network model (described below), among other networkmanagement servers and one or more distributed location servers.

In one implementation, as FIG. 4 shows, a physical domain may be dividedinto one or more physical spaces or campuses, which may be assigned toone or more location servers. In one implementation, one or morecampuses may be associated with a given location server, or one campusmay be associated with multiple location servers. In one implementation,if a given campus is associated with multiple location servers, thelocation servers may be designated as primary, secondary, etc.

In one implementation, a building may have attributes such asdimensions, a civic address, and geographic reference points (forproviding a geographic location). In one implementation, a floor mayhave attributes such as dimensions, graphical image of the floor, etc. Afloor may include one or more coverage areas having various shapes, andmay be associated with one or more wireless access points havingpositions on the floor plan, wireless access point types, antennainformation, directions, etc. In one implementation, a floor may containobstacles that may define any relevant radio frequency (RF) obstacles.Accordingly, in one implementation, the physical network model may haveassociated RF coverage maps. RF coverage maps, also referred to as aheat maps, may be derived from one or more access points, theirlocations, and RF properties of a physical space. In one implementation,the RF coverage maps may provide information regarding coverage ofparticular wireless access points. RF coverage maps are useful forassessing the area or region of sufficient WLAN service, and for use inlocating wireless nodes. RF coverage maps are typically derived frommanual site surveys and mathematical modeling techniques, such as raytracing.

In one implementation, the network elements of the physical networkmodel need not include central controllers, because while wirelessaccess points may be logically associated with any number ofcontrollers, their physical locations may remain the same.

In one implementation, a given physical network model may be assigned toone or more location servers. As such, multiple location servers maymanage a single campus and the actual number of location serversrequired may depend on the size of the campus and the number of wirelessnodes to be tracked. In one implementation, a given campus may beassigned to one or more location servers. As such, multiple locationservers can have the same event definitions and look for thoseconditions across their respective domains.

Other synchronization objects may include event groups, eventdefinitions, and event destinations. In one implementation, an eventgroup may be define a set of event rules (e.g., for a logical group). Inone implementation, an event group may include one or more eventdefinitions. In one implementation, an event definition may define oneor more triggers for automatic synchronization. In one implementation, atrigger may be any logical combination of triggers, where a logicalexpression of triggers is true before a message is generated for anevent definition. In one implementation, an event definition may alsohave attributes for prioritization (e.g., evaluation order) between thedefinitions of a group, attributes for time-of-dayenablement/disablement, and format attributes for messages generated(e.g., Extensible Markup Language (XML), plain text, etc.). In oneimplementation, an event destination may define one or more IPaddresses, common message formats, and message transports. In oneimplementation, a message format may be XML, plain text, etc. In oneimplementation, a message transport may be either a Simple NetworkManagement Protocol (SNMP) trap, a Simple Object Access Protocol (SOAP)call, a Simple Mail transfer Protocol (SMTP) email, a Syslog, or anyother suitable message transport type.

C.2. Logical Network Model

In one implementation, the logical network model may include variousobjects. In one implementation, objects may include, for example, acentral controller mapping and various network elements such as one ormore location servers, one or more central controllers, and one or morewireless access points. In one implementation, location servers arelogically associated with central controllers, and central controllersare logically associated with wireless access points.

In one implementation, a central controller may be assigned to onelocation server. As such, a single location server may be associatedwith that central controller. This may be done for performance reasonsin order to avoid a central controller from becoming overwhelmed bylocation traffic. In other implementations, multiple location serversmay manage the same central controller.

In one implementation, some network elements of the logical networkmodel such as the location servers and wireless access points, maycorrespond to network elements of the physical network model. In oneimplementation, the logical network model is tracked separately from thephysical network model. In one implementation, the logical network modelmay include a central controller definition, which may include one ormore communication parameters that a location server may use tocommunicate with a central controller.

In one implementation, both the logical and physical network models mayinclude attribute information for the various network elements. Forexample, location server attributes may include an Internet Protocol(IP) address, name, communication port, user/password credentials, etc.In one implementation, location servers store and track one or morecentral controller mappings, which include real time data (e.g., signalstrength measurements, associated wireless access points). In oneimplementation, location server may also perform updates to the centralcontroller mappings. As described in more detail below in connection toFIGS. 5 and 6, changes to the network in the physical domain (e.g., awireless access point changes location) are subsequently reflected inthe logical domain.

In one implementation, once the physical and logical models have beenestablished, the network management server 20 manages/monitors thestatus of the location servers. As described in more detail below, thenetwork management server 20 may then synchronize the models whenchanges occur.

D. Synchronization

In one implementation, during a synchronization process, the networkmanagement server 20 can synchronize the logical network model, and thephysical network model and can push the updated/synchronized networkmodels to the location servers. This enables changes to the logical andphysical network models to be coordinated and pushed to the locationservers in a single operation rather than multiple times for eachindividual location server. This also enables a user such as anadministrator to define network designs once and use the design multipletimes across multiple location servers. The following describes thesynchronization process in more detail.

FIG. 5 illustrates an example method implemented at a network managementserver 20. As FIG. 5 shows, network management server 20 stores one ormore logical network configuration models including one or more networkelements in a data store. In one implementation, a logical networkconfiguration model may include, for example, location servers, centralcontrollers, wireless access points, etc. (502).

Network management server 20 tracks one or more physical networkconfiguration models including the one or more network elements (504).In one implementation, the network elements of the physical networkmodel may include geographical locations (e.g., campuses), locationservers, wireless access points, etc. The one or more logical networkmodels correspond with respective one or more physical network models.To track the physical network models, network management server 20collects real-time data, which may include signal strength measurements,associated wireless access points, changes to the physicalconfiguration, etc.

Network management server 20 synchronizes the logical configurationmappings (i.e., central controller mappings) with the correspondingphysical configuration mapping (i.e., network design mappings) when oneor more changes occur in either the logical or physical configurationmappings (506). One implementation of the synchronization process isdescribed below in connection with FIG. 6. Network management server 20then reports/pushes the change(s) to the location server(s) (508). Inone implementation, when a given location server detects synchronizationupdates pushed from the network management server 20, the locationserver may notify other “listening” network management servers of thesynchronization updates. In this manner, synchronization of designmodels between network management servers is facilitated.

FIG. 6 illustrates an example method associated with synchronizationimplemented at a network management server 20. As FIG. 6 shows, networkmanagement server 20 polls synchronization objects (e.g., physicalconfiguration mappings, logical configuration mappings, network designs,location servers, etc.) (602). Network management server 20 thendetermines which of the synchronization objects are current or mostup-to-date (604). In implementation, the determination may be based ontime stamps associated with the objects. Network management server 20then updates the older synchronization objects (606). In oneimplementation, the network management server 20 may also merge theobject changes so that the network management server 20 does notoverwrite non-conflicting changes, rather than blindly overwriting oneof them based on timestamps. For example, if object A attribute B onlocation server and object A′ attribute C on the network managementserver 20 have changed, then both changes may be merged into objectA+attribute B+attribute C on both systems.

In one implementation, the network management server 20 may synchronizethe logical configuration mappings and corresponding physicalconfiguration mappings manually (e.g., upon receiving a synchronizationcommand from an administrator) or automatically, In one implementation,if the network management server detects a change in the physicalposition of a wireless access point, the network management server mayautomatically synchronize the physical configuration mappings andlogical configuration mappings. In one implementation, various triggersfor automatic synchronization may include, for example, when a wirelessaccess point moves to a new physical location, is removed from thenetwork, or experiences a power disruption, etc.

D.1. Synchronization Algorithm

In one implementation, the network management server may transmit/pushtop-level objects (e.g., network designs, even objects, etc.) to thelocation servers or receive/pull top-level objects from the locationservers, including any updates to the physical configuration mappings,to appropriate location servers that need to be updated. In oneimplementation, network management server 20 determines which locationservers need to be updated based on whether the changes affect objectsassociated with particular location servers. In one implementation,objects may also be pulled from location servers to the networkmanagement server. In one implementation, whether an object is pushed orpulled, the full object tree including all if its child objects arepushed/pulled. In one implementation, child objects may include RFcoverage maps, buildings, floors, etc.

In one implementation, one or more of the following rules may beapplied. In one implementation, if an object exists only on the networkmanagement server and is assigned to one or more location servers, thatobject may be pushed (e.g., using a Simple Object Access Protocol (SOAP)or Extensible Markup Language (XML) Web Services Interface. In oneimplementation, if an object exists only on a location server, thatobject may be pulled and constructed on the network management server.In one implementation, if an object exists on the network managementserver and a location server, but the network design mappings andcentral controller mappings are not synchronized, the newer of the twoversions is either pushed or pulled. Accordingly, if the networkmanagement server has the newer version, the network management serverpushes the object to the location server. If the location server has thenewer version, the network management server pulls the object into thenetwork management server and updates the network design mapping. Thenetwork management server may utilize an appropriate time-objectsynchronization algorithm to ensure which objects are the most currentor up-to-date.

In one implementation, once the network design and central controllermappings are created, the network management server may provide a userinterface and back-end implementation that performs the synchronizationusing SOAP/XML interfaces on the location servers. The user interfacemay also provide status and progress information as each object getssynchronized. In one implementation, if any objects failsynchronization, the wireless network server may show an error and areason for the error.

In one implementation, as FIG. 1A shows, multiple network managementservers 20 a and 20 b could manage a common set of location servers, aswell as networks that are mapped to those location servers. In oneimplementation, if one of the network management servers makes changeson a given location server during a synchronization process, the secondnetwork management server may detect that change on the location serverand pull that change into its database directly from the locationserver. This allows distributed network management servers to staysynchronized even if there is no direct link between them.

E. Example Screenshots

The following are example screenshots illustrating aspects of theembodiments described above. FIG. 7 illustrates an example screenshotshowing a list of network designs. As FIG. 7 shows, the network designsmay be initially unassigned to location servers. FIG. 8 illustratesanother example screenshot showing a list of available location serversthat is displayed when a user clicks on an “Assign” button associatedwith one of the network designs. From the list of available locationservers, the user may select one or more location servers to be assignedto the respective network design. FIG. 9 illustrates another examplescreenshot showing a mapping of central controllers to location servers,which may result from the synchronization process, described above.

The present invention has been explained with reference to specificembodiments. For example, while embodiments of the present inventionhave been described as operating in connection with IEEE 802.11networks, the present invention can be used in connection with anysuitable wireless network environment. Other embodiments will be evidentto those of ordinary skill in the art. It is therefore not intended thatthe present invention be limited, except as indicated by the appendedclaims.

1. A method comprising: storing, in a data store, a physical networkmodel of a network environment, the network environment comprising oneor more central controllers and one or more access points each operativeto associate with a central controller, the physical network modelcomprising one or more region objects, each region object correspondingto a physical region of the network environment, each region objectfurther including one or more radio frequency (RF) coverage maps, eachRF coverage map defining a location of one or more access points and RFproperties of a physical space; accessing, by a network managementserver, a first mapping definition that defines a first operationalassociation between a location server and one or more region objects ofthe physical network model, wherein the location server is operative totrack and provide location information associated with one or morenetwork stations; accessing, by the network management server, a secondmapping definition that defines a second operational association betweenthe location server and one or more central controllers; transmitting,by the network management server, the one or more region objects in thefirst mapping definition to the location server; and configuring, by thenetwork management server, the location server and the one or morecentral controllers in the second mapping definition to interoperate. 2.The method of claim 1 further comprising monitoring the location server.3. The method of claim 1 further comprising synchronizing, based on thefirst mapping definition, the physical network model stored in the datastore and the physical network model stored on the location server. 4.The method of claim 1 further comprising pushing the synchronizedphysical network model to one or more location servers.
 5. The method ofclaim 1 further comprising mapping the physical network model to one ormore location servers, wherein the physical network model comprises oneor more region objects and one or more objects that are children of theregion objects, one of the child objects comprising an RF coverage map.6. The method of claim 5 wherein at least one child object comprisesbuildings and floors.
 7. The method of claim 5 further comprisingpushing synchronization updates to one or more location servers based onthe mapping.
 8. The method of claim 7 wherein when a location serverdetects a synchronization update pushed from the wireless networkinfrastructure node, the location server notifies other wireless networkinfrastructure nodes of the synchronization update.
 9. The method ofclaim 1 further comprising mapping one or more location server objectsto one or more central controller objects.
 10. The method of claim 1further comprising determining which synchronization objects mostup-to-date based on time stamps associated with the synchronizationobjects.
 11. The method of claim 1 wherein the synchronizing of thephysical network can be manually triggered or automatically triggered.12. Logic encoded in one or more tangible media for execution and whenexecuted operable to: store, in a data store, a physical network modelof a network environment, the network environment comprising one or morecentral controllers and one or more access points each operative toassociate with a central controller, the physical network modelcomprising one or more region objects, each region object correspondingto a physical region of the network environment, each region objectfurther including one or more radio frequency (RF) coverage maps, eachRF coverage map defining a location of one or more access points and RFproperties of a physical space; access a first mapping definition thatdefines a first operational association between a location server andone or more region objects of the physical network model, wherein thelocation server is operative to track and provide location informationassociated with one or more network stations; access a second mappingdefinition that defines a second operational association between thelocation server and one or more central controllers; transmit the one ormore region objects in the first mapping definition to the locationserver; and configure the location server and the one or more centralcontrollers in the second mapping definition to interoperate.
 13. Thelogic of claim 12 wherein the logic is further operable to monitor thelocation server.
 14. The logic of claim 12 wherein the logic is furtheroperable to synchronize, based on the first mapping definition, thephysical network model stored in the data store and the physical networkmodel stored on the location server.
 15. The logic of claim 12 whereinthe logic is further operable to push the synchronized physical networkmodel to one or more location servers.
 16. The logic of claim 12 whereinthe logic is further operable to map the physical network model to oneor more location servers, wherein the physical network model comprisesone or more region objects and one or more objects that are children ofthe region objects, one of the child objects comprising an RF coveragemap.
 17. The logic of claim 16 wherein at least one child objectcomprises buildings and floors.
 18. The logic of claim 16 wherein thelogic is further operable to push synchronization updates to one or morelocation servers based on the mapping.
 19. The logic of claim 18 whereinwhen a location server detects a synchronization update pushed from thewireless network infrastructure node, the location server notifies otherwireless network infrastructure nodes of the synchronization update. 20.The logic of claim 12 wherein the logic is further operable to map oneor more location server objects to one or more central controllerobjects.
 21. The logic of claim 12 wherein the logic is further operableto determine which synchronization objects most up-to-date based on timestamps associated with the synchronization objects.
 22. The logic ofclaim 12 wherein the synchronizing of the physical network can bemanually triggered or automatically triggered.
 23. A system comprising:a wireless network infrastructure node operable to store, in a datastore, a physical network model of a network environment, the networkenvironment comprising one or more central controllers and one or moreaccess points each operative to associate with a central controller, thephysical network model comprising one or more region objects, eachregion object corresponding to a physical region of the networkenvironment, each region object further including one or more radiofrequency (RF) coverage maps, each RF coverage map defining a locationof one or more access points and RF properties of a physical space;access a first mapping definition that defines a first operationalassociation between a location server and one or more region objects ofthe physical network model, wherein the location server is operative totrack and provide location information associated with one or morenetwork stations; receive a second mapping definition that defines asecond operational association between the location server and one ormore central controllers; transmit the one or more region objects in thefirst mapping definition to the location server; and configure thelocation server and the one or more central controllers in the secondmapping definition to interoperate; and one or more location serversoperable to communicate with the wireless network infrastructure node.